Fredericton, New Brunswick – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Parliamentary Secretary Gerald Keddy, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, along with Member of Parliament Mike Allen, today announced an investment of $1.83 million in a Canadian-led international research effort to give potato farmers a technological edge in predicting and preventing yield losses in their fields and in storage.
The collaborative research effort with several industry partners will be led by scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Potato Research Centre in Fredericton. Researchers from Canada, France and New Zealand will use new discoveries about potato DNA, microbial life in the soil and insect behavior to find better ways to measure the health and quality of potato plants and tubers.
This investment under Growing Forward 2 has helped leverage $821,800 in industry contributions. Project partners include BioNB, Comité Nord Plants des Pommes de Terre, Quebec-based potato operations Ferme Daniel Bolduc Inc. and Maxi-Sol Inc., Plant and Food Research New Zealand, Potatoes New Brunswick and France-based company Comptoir Commercial des Lubrifiants (CCL).
Quick Facts
- Researchers will use a new generation of powerful computer-based gene sequencers to identify genes in potato DNA that indicates when the plant experiences stress, with the goal of using these genes as markers for diagnostic tools on the farm.
- DNA sequencing will also be used to identify the billions of species of microbial life in the soil and to study their impact on potato common scab.
- The AAFC investment in the project is made through the Industry-led Research and Development stream of Agriculture Canada's AgriInnovation Program, a five-year, up to $698-million initiative under Growing Forward 2.
Source: AAFC